NATIONAL chess player Jessica Callender led Guyana’s attack over the weekend in the Margaret Prince Memorial Rapid Online Female tournament.

The invitational event, which was hosted by the Women’s Sub-Committee of the Barbados Chess Federation saw the participation of 58 female players from across the Caribbean.

Callender, who played above expectations at last month’s FIDE Online Olympiad, finished with 4.5 points after she claimed victory against fellow Guyanese national player Nellisha Johnson (lost on time) and against Jamaican Victoria Powell, Barbadian Rashida Corbin and Trinidadian Kayla Martin.

Overall, the reigning University of Guyana female champion placed 15th in the seven-round tournament.

Along with Callender, 12 other players represented Guyana. Pooja Lam, Sherlyta Campayne and Johnson ended on four points each, while Maliha Rajkumar and Naomi Barkoye finished on three points each.

Saraswati Vidya Niketan student Lam placed a notable 17th with wins against Jamaican Meghalaya Haughton-Pathaw, Barbadian Alesha Lovell, Celine Mohamed and fellow Guyanese Queen’s College student, Naomi Barkoye.

Campayne and Nellisha Johnson, who both participated in last month’s Fide Online Olympiad, also represented well.

Meanwhile, according to information from the Guyana Chess Federation, junior players, including 13-year-old Lam, Rajkumar, Barkoye, Adia Alphonso, Anaya Lall and Aniyah Couchman are, all currently being trained under the Chess-In-Schools programme, which is sanctioned by the FIDE Development Fund and conducted by International Master, Atanu Lahiri.

Other players who took part in the tournament were Shazeeda Rahim, Naila Rahaman, Shelby Williams and Areanna Singh.